by Ali Parker
Piper looked down and fidgeted with the edge of her pillowcase. “I’m nervous, actually.”
“What? Why?”
She sighed and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. “I’ve decided I’m going to tell them the truth about what I’ve actually been doing this year.”
“About the Casanova Club?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
I could see the turmoil in her eyes and in the tension in her jaw. “It will be okay.”
She smiled at me. “I hope so. I should have just been honest with them from the get-go. Even if they were upset, it wouldn’t have been as bad as having to tell them I’ve been lying to their faces for seven months.”
“They’ll understand. Sometimes, you have to do things for yourself, you know? I should know. I’m the poster child of self-indulgent behavior.”
Piper giggled. “Stop it. You’re too hard on yourself.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Don’t blow smoke up my ass. You and I both know it’s true.”
She turned back toward me. “But your family didn’t need you to be there for financial reasons. I abandoned mine to go on a serial-dating escapade for a year when they’re on the brink of bankruptcy.”
“Money isn’t everything.”
“No,” she said slowly, “it isn’t. But when you have none, it feels like it is. I don’t know if they’ll forgive me for this. I’m terrified they’ll resent me for it.”
“They’re your family. They’ll come around. I’m sure of it.”
Piper nodded but didn’t look convinced. If anything, she looked like she might be about to cry. I reached for her and pulled her into my chest. She wrapped her arms around me and rested her cheek on my chest.
“I’m sorry you have to go home and have a hard conversation,” I said.
She held me tighter. “Thank you.”
“Having the hard conversations are important. I didn’t give my family the chance. I threw in the towel, changed my name, and got myself exiled in the process. You can do this. It’s worth it.”
She pulled away to look up at me, her brows knit together. “Exiled?”
I nodded. “I’m not welcome back, where my family is concerned. And it’s probably for the best. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss them. Well, parts of them. The bullshit that went along with being their son wasn’t worth it in the end.” I traced her jaw with my thumb. “But you only get one family, babe. And yours must be pretty fucking great to have raised you.”
She giggled and pressed her cheek into my palm. “They are pretty great.”
“Then you’re making the right call. I’m sure of it.”
“Do you ever wish you could take it back?” she asked.
“Take what back?”
“Changing your name?”
I pursed my lips and considered her question for a moment. Did I ever find myself wishing I could still be Cooper Bronwyn Rockefeller again? “No,” I said, certainty ringing true in my voice. Then I chuckled. “If you think I’m a mess now, you should have seen me back then when I had access to even more money.”
“I don’t think you’re a mess, Coop.”
“Then you’d be the first.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t think that’s true. I think your friends see the real you.”
“I’m not a Rockefeller.”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” Piper said, her eyes searching mine. I could have gotten lost in the sea of deep brown. “I’m saying I think you’re hiding from who you could be. Who you want to be. It’s easy to party and have fun and be that guy. It’s infinitely harder to be the guy who declares to the world that he wants something and then goes for it. Especially when he doesn’t know what it is he wants.”
I studied her. “When did you turn into such a smart ass?”
She smiled and shook her head at me. “You know I’m right.”
I didn’t fight her. Her words rang true despite me wishing they didn’t.
Piper ran her hand along my chest, tracing the swirling tattoos on my skin. “All of this is temporary, Coop. The parties. The girls. All of it. At some point or another, it’s all going to change, either by your doing or by something external, and you’re going to have to figure out what your next steps are.”
I almost told her I wished she was my next step. But I caught myself and bit down on my tongue.
Piper gazed at my tattoos. “Whatever happens, you’re going to be great, Coop. And you’re going to be okay. I can feel it in my bones.” Her eyes swept up to mine and filled with warmth as she smiled. “Do you believe me?”
No. “Yes.”
Piper’s smiled broadened, and she leaned in and gave me a kiss. “Good.”
She rolled over to sit up and swing her legs over the side of the bed. I watched as she stood up, stretched once more, and walked languidly to my bathroom door. She paused and looked back at me, catching herself on the doorframe. “Would you care to join me for a shower?”
I wrenched my blanket off to the chorus of her bubbly laughter. I staggered out of bed with the sheet still caught up around my knees, pitched forward, caught myself on the end of my mattress, and straightened.
Piper was laughing delightedly. “Come on, Casanova. I don’t have all day.”
“Yes, you fucking do,” I said, hurrying after her into the bathroom.
I pushed her up against the shower door before she had a chance to open it, and I kissed her greedily. She lifted her leg, running her smooth skin along mine until I caught her knee and held her leg up. I pushed greedily for more as my cock hardened between us.
She ran her fingers up my ribs and around to my back. Her touch was exquisite and a painful reminder that it was fleeting.
But for now, she was mine. Today, and for the next few days, I would have her as many times as I could, and I would drink in every ounce of her that I could.
With any luck, maybe that would make goodbye easier.
CHAPTER 23
PIPER
“Hold on, Piper. Your father is right beside me. I’m putting you on speaker, okay?”
“Okay, Mom,” I said as I rolled up one of my summer dresses to tuck it neatly into the corner of one of my suitcases. I waited patiently as she struggled, like always, to put the phone on speaker. I managed to roll up two other pieces of clothing before her voice filled the speaker again.
“Okay, we’re both on, Piper.”
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, sweetheart. It’s good to hear your voice. How are you?”
How was I? There was no easy answer to that question.
The most overwhelming feeling in my chest was worry. Worry that everything was going to take a bad turn when I got home and told them the truth. Worry that I was going to hurt them, hurt us, and never be able to put things back to how they were supposed to be.
Secondly, I was confused because I didn’t expect to feel this sad about leaving Cooper. Less than thirty days ago, I had been hellbent on storming out of here and leaving him in my rearview mirror. Now, my heart ached at the thought of leaving him behind.
And lastly, I was tired. So. Fucking. Tired.
“I’m good,” I said. “I’m going to be home soon. I was hoping we could get together for dinner or something on Wednesday? I won’t have much time, but I miss you guys. And I want to fill you in on what’s been going on in my life.”
I heard my mother clasp her hands together. It was something she did when she was delighted. “Oh. That would be lovely, Piper. I’ll make lasagna. What do you think?”
“I was thinking I would bring dinner over.”
“You don’t need to do that,” my dad said, his tone sharp.
They were so sensitive when it came to money. I didn’t want to add any more of a financial burden than they already had by having my mom going out to buy all the ingredients to make lasagna. I also wanted them to be able to relax for an evening after closing the restaurant and just be. Besides, I was going to drop a bomb on th
em, and it hardly seemed fair to have them make dinner.
“I know I don’t,” I said, choosing my next words carefully. “I just haven’t been home in so long, and I’m craving butter chicken from that little Indian takeout place by my apartment. Can I bring it over? I’ve been thinking about it for weeks.”
My father didn’t answer right away. “I suppose that would work.”
“Sounds delicious, Piper,” my mom chimed in.
“How long are you home this time?” my dad asked.
Victory. “Not long. Just two nights.”
“Again?” my father asked, skepticism coloring his tone. “Is that Aaron fellow coming with you?”
I rolled my eyes. “No, Dad. He’s not. And you don’t need to worry about him. He’s just a friend. Okay?”
My father grunted. “I don’t know. I think he wanted to be more than just your friend.”
“He was very handsome,” my mother said.
I chuckled softly. “Yes, he was.”
And so is Cooper.
I smiled inwardly. Cooper was the sort of man who, if he showed up on my arm to a family dinner, would certainly give my father a heart attack. And knowing Cooper, he’d be looking to ruffle some feathers, too. I could see the whole interaction going down in my mind, Cooper smirking over his cup of wine, my mother blinking in horror at him after he said some dirty joke, Phillip dying of laughter, and my father turning redder than the marinara sauce on our plates.
Yeah, Cooper would not be meeting the James family. Ever.
“He wasn’t that handsome,” my father said in a scolding tone.
My mother laughed. “Say what you will. That boy could be in Hollywood.”
I listened to them bicker about Aaron’s good looks and hoped none of this changed after I told them who Aaron really was.
It was going to be tricky to explain, and I would need support. Thank God for Phillip. As I listened to my parents continue to argue over Aaron, I realized I was going to need more than just my brother in my corner.
“I have to go, you guys,” I said, zipping up my suitcase. “Janie is calling me on the other line. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Wednesday,” my mother said, her voice full of joy.
“Yes, can’t wait,” I said.
I ended the call with a sigh and hung my head.
I’m the world’s worst daughter.
After packing up the rest of my items I wouldn’t need either today or tomorrow, I called Janie. She’d just be getting off work, so I wasn’t sure if she would answer.
She did. “Hey, Pipes! The countdown is on! You’re home in forty-eight hours!”
I grinned. “Hey Janie. I know. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Likewise. What’s on the docket this go around? Ice cream? Brie? Wine? What sort of coping situation should I set up? Are you heartbroken? Relieved? Tell me everything.”
How did I answer that? I licked my lips. “I think I’ll be okay.”
“You think?”
“Yeah.” I ran my fingers through my hair and went to my bedroom window to look down at the pool and the beach below. I’d been hoping Cooper would be out there, but I was fairly certain he was down in the kitchen, attempting to make us dinner. I wasn’t sure how well that was going to turn out, but I admired him for trying. “Yeah, I’ll be okay.”
“Huh. All right then. That’s good to hear. How are things going with Cooper?”
“Good. Really good. Better than I thought they would. And I’m going to miss him.” And the sex. I was most definitely going to miss the sex. I sighed and put my back to the window. “I need to ask you a favor, Janie.”
“Anything.”
“I’m going to dinner at my folks’ house on Wednesday. I was hoping you’d come with me?”
Janie didn’t hesitate. “Of course, I’ll come with you! What’s for dinner?”
“I’m going to pick up butter chicken from that place around the corner from our apartment.”
Janie let out a hungry moan. “Ooh. Yes. I haven’t had that in forever. Works for me.”
“Janie?”
“What’s up?”
I sighed. “I’m going to tell them everything.”
“Everything? What do you mean?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and went to the bed to sit down. “I’m going to tell them about the Casanova Club and the money and the men. All of it. I can’t keep lying to them. It’s putting a strain on our relationship that just isn’t worth it.”
“But your dad’s heart?”
“He can handle it. After all, I’m doing this for them. For all of us. Right?”
“Right,” Janie said slowly.
I winced. “Is this a terrible idea?”
My best friend was quiet for a minute. “No, it’s not. It’s the right thing to do. I think your father’s pride might get in the way for a while.”
“How long is ‘a while’?”
“A couple months. Maybe more? You know him better than I do. But I can see how he might feel betrayed. And confused. And probably pissed that you’ve already fucked seven different guys in the span of that many months.”
“Janie.” I groaned burying my face in my hands. “Don’t say shit like that.”
She snickered. “I can’t help it. It’s not like I’d say that in front of your parents.”
“Thank God. Because you’re there to support me, not hammer the cross into my grave.”
“I’ve got your back, Pipes. Don’t worry. It’s gonna be hella awkward. But if we get a glass of wine in our bodies first, we can do this. Together. Okay?”
I breathed a sigh of relief, and tears stung my eyes. “Okay.”
“Good,” Janie said, her voice radiating confidence I wished I felt. “Sorry, Pipes, but I gotta go. I’m in line to order some dinner, and I’m up next.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon. Janie?”
“Yeah, Pipes?”
“Thank you. Again. For everything. I don’t know how to pay you back.”
“Bitch. This is what best friends are for. You don’t have to pay me back.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too. Now go soak up your last hours with your hunk.”
She hung up on me.
I smiled down at my phone and sighed. No matter how rough this all went, at least I had Janie in my corner.
And my brother.
And seven single, wealthy, gorgeous bachelors.
How the hell had my life turned into such a wild ride?
I thought of the other men on this journey with me. It would be so easy to pick up the phone and call one of them and pour my heart out. To tell him everything I was thinking and what I was about to do with my family.
“They love you,” he’d say. “And they will understand. Time heals all wounds.”
Oh, how I wished I could call him.
But even if I could, I couldn’t tell him the truth. I couldn’t tell him I was only in this for the money to save my family.
Because that would be a bigger betrayal than lying to my parents about the Casanova Club, and I’d break his heart.
Before I went too far down that train of thought, I left my bedroom to head downstairs to join Cooper in the kitchen. The smell of burning vegetables reached my nose when I hit the top of the stairs, and I smiled to myself.
At least he was trying.
CHAPTER 24
COOPER
“So, I guess this is it,” Piper said, clasping her hands in front of her and looking up at me from beneath her dark, dramatic eyebrows.
The white luxury SUV at her back hummed quietly, and the driver, a severe-looking woman with short blonde hair, was scowling at us from the driver’s seat, dripping with impatience.
“I guess so,” I said.
Piper chewed the inside of her cheek as I bent and picked up her bags. I toted them to the back of the SUV and rapped my knuckles on the trunk. The driver opened it, and once it was hovering over my head, I loaded Piper�
�s bags in the back, making sure they were spaced evenly so nothing would be damaged.
She watched me with a knowing smile the whole time.
“What?” I closed the trunk with my hip.
“Nothing.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Liar.”
Her smile tugged at her lips. “It’s just that at the beginning of the month, I had to carry all my bags out to your yard. And now, here you are, doing all the heavy lifting for me. Thank you, Coop.”
I winced at the reminder of how I’d treated her in the beginning. “I’m sorry about all that.”
“Don’t be. It’s in the past. And you more than redeemed yourself these last couple weeks.”
I rubbed the back of my neck, unconvinced. “If you say so.”
Piper came to me and pressed her hands flat to my chest. “You did. I mean it. I had a really good time with you. Despite all the ups and downs.”
The warmth of her palms on my chest was torture. Soon, she’d be gone, and I’d be left here with the tingling sensation of her touch on me.
That didn’t matter. What mattered was that we were in our final minutes of our time together, and there were things I needed to say to her. Things she needed to hear.
“Piper,” I said, putting my hands on her shoulders.
“Yeah?” She blinked her big doe eyes at me, and I willed myself not to kiss her and spoil the moment with lust.
“I owe a lot to you.”
“No, you don’t owe me anything. I—”
“Let me finish.”
Piper clamped her mouth shut and nodded for me to continue, a playful twinkle in her eye.
“I want to thank you for reminding me who I am. I think I lost sight of the big picture and got so caught up in parties and women and having fun that I… I lost myself somewhere along the way.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Fuck, I hate how cliché that sounds.”
She tightened her hands into fists in my shirt. “Please keep going.”